On July 21, 2027, the wwPDB will fully transition to extended
12-character PDB IDs, the PDBx/mmCIF format, and the re-organized PDB
archive
https://www.wwpdb.org/news/news?year=2026#69ebcdca1103c56d3f444159. At
this point, new 4-character IDs will no longer be issued.
PDB Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) can be used to link to the
corresponding wwPDB DOI landing page. DOIs are unique, persistent
alphanumeric string assigned to digital objects to provide a permanent,
reliable link to their location online. DOIs will not change once assigned.
The DOI syntax for PDB entries after July 20, 2027 will reflect the
extended PDB ID.
DOIs for PDB entries deposited after July 20, 2027 (only
assigned 12-character PDB IDs)
PDB entries that will only be issued extended PDB IDs (e.g.,
pdb_1000axyz), will have the same PDB ID in both
_database_2.database_code and _database_2.pdbx_database_accession
data items.
These entries will have a new PDB DOI format based on the extended PDB
ID, e.g., 10.2210/pdb_1000axyz/pdb.
All 12 characters, including the pdb_ prefix, are included.
loop_
_database_2.database_id
_database_2.database_code
_database_2.pdbx_database_accession
_database_2.pdbx_DOI
PDB pdb_1000axyz pdb_1000axyz 10.2210/pdb_1000axyz/pdb
DOIs for PDB entries deposited before July 21, 2027 (assigned
both 4- and 12-character PDB IDs)
The PDB DOI, 4-character PDB ID, and extended 12-character PDB ID are
stored in the database_2 category of the PDBx/mmCIF model file:
loop_
_database_2.database_id
_database_2.database_code
_database_2.pdbx_database_accession
_database_2.pdbx_DOI
PDB 1ABC pdb_00001abc 10.2210/pdb1abc/pdb
For these entries, the PDB DOI format with “pdb” prefix remains
unchanged, e.g., 10.2210/pdb1abc/pdb.
For example, the PDB entry with ID 8y9m (and extended PDB ID
pdb_00008y9m) has the DOI https://doi.org/10.2210/pdb8y9m/pdb.
Citing PDB DOIs
Many journals use PDB DOIs to link to PDB data from published articles.
PDB DOIs are also used as citations for entries that are not associated
with a primary citation.
- PDB DOIs are also used as citations for entries that are not
associated with a primary citation.
- Entries that have been issued a 4-character ID (meaning it has been
deposited before July 21, 2027) should be cited using the ID and DOI
syntax for 4-character IDs (e.g., 10.2210/pdb1abc/pdb). This
includes structures with extended IDs created from 4-character IDs
using the prefix “pdb_0000” (e.g., “2abc” for pdb_00002abc)
- Entries that have only been issued a 12-character ID (meaning it has
been deposited after July 20, 2027) should be cited using the new ID
and DOI syntax (e.g., 10.2210/pdb_1000axyz/pdb)
For any further information please contact us at info@wwpdb.org.
Transition Resources
On behalf of the wwPDB
--
IRINA PERSIKOVA, Ph.D.
Deputy Biocuration Lead, RCSB Protein Data Bank
Research Associate, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
174 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway NJ 08854
P: 848.445.4938 | E: irina.persikova@rcsb.org
mailto:irina.persikova@rcsb.org
rcsb.org <www.rcsb.org> | iqb.rutgers.edu http://iqb.rutgers.edu |
facebook https://www.facebook.com/RCSBPDB | twitter
https://twitter.com/buildmodels
On July 21, 2027, the wwPDB will fully transition to extended
12-character PDB IDs, the PDBx/mmCIF format, and the re-organized PDB
archive
<https://www.wwpdb.org/news/news?year=2026#69ebcdca1103c56d3f444159>. At
this point, new 4-character IDs will no longer be issued.
PDB Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) can be used to link to the
corresponding wwPDB DOI landing page. DOIs are unique, persistent
alphanumeric string assigned to digital objects to provide a permanent,
reliable link to their location online. DOIs will not change once assigned.
The DOI syntax for PDB entries after July 20, 2027 will reflect the
extended PDB ID.
DOIs for PDB entries deposited after July 20, 2027 (only
assigned 12-character PDB IDs)
PDB entries that will only be issued extended PDB IDs (e.g.,
pdb_1000axyz), will have the same PDB ID in both
`_database_2.database_code` and `_database_2.pdbx_database_accession`
data items.
These entries will have a new PDB DOI format based on the extended PDB
ID, e.g., 10.2210/pdb_1000axyz/pdb.
All 12 characters, including the pdb_ prefix, are included.
loop_
_database_2.database_id
_database_2.database_code
_database_2.pdbx_database_accession
_database_2.pdbx_DOI
PDB pdb_1000axyz pdb_1000axyz 10.2210/pdb_1000axyz/pdb
DOIs for PDB entries deposited before July 21, 2027 (assigned
both 4- and 12-character PDB IDs)
The PDB DOI, 4-character PDB ID, and extended 12-character PDB ID are
stored in the `database_2` category of the PDBx/mmCIF model file:
loop_
_database_2.database_id
_database_2.database_code
_database_2.pdbx_database_accession
_database_2.pdbx_DOI
PDB 1ABC pdb_00001abc 10.2210/pdb1abc/pdb
For these entries, the PDB DOI format with “pdb” prefix remains
unchanged, e.g., 10.2210/pdb1abc/pdb.
For example, the PDB entry with ID 8y9m (and extended PDB ID
pdb_00008y9m) has the DOI https://doi.org/10.2210/pdb8y9m/pdb.
Citing PDB DOIs
Many journals use PDB DOIs to link to PDB data from published articles.
PDB DOIs are also used as citations for entries that are not associated
with a primary citation.
* PDB DOIs are also used as citations for entries that are not
associated with a primary citation.
* Entries that have been issued a 4-character ID (meaning it has been
deposited before July 21, 2027) should be cited using the ID and DOI
syntax for 4-character IDs (e.g., 10.2210/pdb1abc/pdb). This
includes structures with extended IDs created from 4-character IDs
using the prefix “pdb_0000” (e.g., “2abc” for pdb_00002abc)
* Entries that have only been issued a 12-character ID (meaning it has
been deposited after July 20, 2027) should be cited using the new ID
and DOI syntax (e.g., 10.2210/pdb_1000axyz/pdb)
For any further information please contact us at info@wwpdb.org.
Transition Resources
* PDB ID Extension FAQ
<https://www.wwpdb.org/documentation/pdb-id-extension-faq>
* PDB Beta Archive Overview
<https://www.wwpdb.org/ftp/pdb-beta-ftp-sites>: includes scripts,
shortlink URLs, and other resources
* Understanding PDBx/mmCIF format
<https://pdb101.rcsb.org/learn/guide-to-understanding-pdb-data/beginner%E2%80%99s-guide-to-pdbx-mmcif>
* PDBx/mmCIF User Guide
<https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/docs/user-guide/guide.html>
* PDBx/mmCIF Dictionary <https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/>
* PDB -> PDBx/mmCIF correspondences
<https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/docs/pdb_to_pdbx_correspondences.html>
* An online PDBx/mmCIF Editor <https://pdbj.org/cif-editor/>
* PDBx/mmCIF software resources
<https://mmcif.wwpdb.org/docs/software-resources.html>
On behalf of the wwPDB
--
IRINA PERSIKOVA, Ph.D.
Deputy Biocuration Lead, RCSB Protein Data Bank
Research Associate, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
174 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway NJ 08854
P: 848.445.4938 | E: irina.persikova@rcsb.org
<mailto:irina.persikova@rcsb.org>
rcsb.org <www.rcsb.org> | iqb.rutgers.edu <http://iqb.rutgers.edu> |
facebook <https://www.facebook.com/RCSBPDB> | twitter
<https://twitter.com/buildmodels>